Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — NBA players Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson spearheaded the attack of Canada in the first game of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
The Canadians defeated Turkey, 77-69, on Tuesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Joseph, who plays for the Eastern Conference team Toronto Raptors, led all scorers with 21 points. While Thompson, who won a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers, added 10 points and six rebounds.
A buzzer beating triple to end the first quarter gave Canada a 21-17 advantage.
The Canadians erected their first double digit lead, 39-29, with 32 ticks left to play in the first half and held their lead for the rest of the game.
Turkey team captain Sinan Guler paced his team with 14 points, three assists and three steals.
“Offensively, we couldn’t capitalize on our strengths,” Guler said.
It was only Cedi Osman who managed to figure in double-digit scoring for Turkey, contributing 10 markers. Coach Halil Ataman noted that some of their key players could not make their shots.
“It was a bad game for us tonight. I hope that in the Senegal game we play our regular game,” Ataman said.
Turkey will have a day off on Wednesday.
Canada, on the other hand, will look to finish the first round of the tournament unblemished when they go up against Senegal tomorrow.
